Sing me to Sleep
by MasquedAngel
Summary: Rei has anxiety attacks ever since Makoto saved him from drowning. After his nightmare takes a different turn, he decides he needs to talk to someone, and Nagisa is always happy to oblige… even in the middle of the night. Fluff, rated K plus.


Hello! Thanks for coming to my story. The world could use some more Reigisa fluff, don't you think?

Anyway, I do not own Free! or any of its characters. I do not own the reference to Percy Jackson, and I do not own the song Lullaby by Dear Juliet.

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The tumultuous churning of the ocean during the storm made Rei feel like he was reduced to the size of a pebble. No matter how close the island was, it felt like he'd never reach it. The chilly water suddenly stung against his skin like ice as he rolled helplessly under a large wave. Icy water flooded his lungs as terror flooded his veins. His arms thrashed wildly to break through the surface, to fill his lungs up with air once more.

But he didn't know which way was up or down. As panic set in, it began to fuel his frantic thrashing in the waves. His throat now burned for oxygen it could not reach. His movements began to slow down from lack of energy, but then he broke through. He coughed and sputtered but could only take a few breaths before he was tossed back under the uncontrollable crushing waves.

His entire body trembled as he realized the true power of the ocean could not be matched. The water was deadly, powerful, and incredibly beautiful. It had a vicious beauty to it that also could not be matched. He was too tired this time to struggle against the endless rolling of the water. Just when he thought he'd finally give into the power the ocean possessed, a hand wrapped around his torso.

In the past, it had been Makoto who saved him. However, this time, the strong arm tugging him to the surface wasn't his. He wasn't sure how he knew that, he just knew. Meekly, he kicked his legs to help break through the waves. When they reached it, he was barely conscious. The last thing he saw was Nagisa's beautiful ruby eyes wet with a mix of ocean water and tears.

…

Rei shuddered as he awoke from the dream. His skin dripped with cold sweat, and his breaths came in pants. The soft sheets rustled as he sat up and draped his legs over the edge. He fumbled around in the darkness for his glasses or his light switch; whichever came first. His fingers met a cool frame and glass.

He slid them on before he flipped the switch. Light illuminated his room, and he instantly felt better. The comfort of seeing his room around him was astounding, but it still didn't alleviate the inner panic the dream brought on.

It was that moment when Rei realized he'd never truly get over the fear of drowning. That sensation had been his closest encounter with death. It instilled a panic in him that nothing else ever has.

Thinking about how panicky he was only made it worse. His quick, shallow breaths increased in pace. He began to feel a little lightheaded due to the lack of oxygen.

He found himself craving the warmth, or rather comfort, of another person. He thought back to Nagisa's distraught look in his dream. He glanced back at his bedside alarm clock. The red digital digits read 12:48 AM. Perhaps Rei had been lucky. Nagisa usually stayed awake until 2 on the weekends.

Without putting much more thought into it, he pulled his phone charger cable out and scrolled through his list of contacts. There were only a handful of names in there, so it didn't take long. He called Nagisa's number, desperately hoping he could at least talk to his blonde friend.

It rang a few times without anyone picking up. Rei was about to hang up when suddenly, Nagisa answered. "Rei-chan?" he asked, sounding very awake. "You never call this late! What's up? Oh, and sorry for not picking up right away… I had to find my phone," he rambled.

And Rei couldn't be any happier about it. The friendly voice was a welcome sound to his ears. "Don't worry about it," he said huskily, realizing he hadn't said anything in roughly three hours. "I'm just happy you picked up," he added before he could stop himself.

"Oh? What's wrong, Rei-chan?" Nagisa sounded worried. Rei could easily imagine the blonde's

With a sigh, Rei replied, "I… had a nightmare."

"You should tell me about it. I heard that it makes them go away!" he said cheerfully. "Aw, but it won't work if I'm not there in person. Do you think I could come over?"

"Are you sure, Nagisa? What about our parents?" Rei asked.

"They don't matter. What matters is making you feel better!" Nagisa answered with his chipper voice that never failed to bring a smile to Rei's lips. His heart skipped a beat with those words. He had to remind himself that Nagisa only thought of him as a friend, nothing more. He was very affectionate with everyone.

"Thank you, Nagisa-kun," the blue haired teen said softly.

"Anytime, Rei-chan! I'll be over in a little bit. Leave the front door unlocked for me, okay?"

"Okay," he chuckled. "See you soon."

They both disconnected the phone before Rei stood up. He plugged the charger back into his phone, and he couldn't help but feel a bit of the panic set in again. Without Nagisa to distract him from his thoughts, they resurfaced. Now, he was extremely grateful that the blonde was coming over. Rei didn't think he'd be able to fall asleep either way, so having someone to talk to would be nice. It would be infinitely better than lying awake thinking about drowning all night.

He hoped Nagisa could stay for a while. His company would do wonders to cheer him up, if that minute-long phone call had already made him feel that much better. With a content sigh, Rei moved to his bedroom door and opened it carefully. It had a tendency to be a little squeaky, and his parents and brother usually were light sleepers.

Feeling ridiculous as he tiptoed to the front door, he tried to force himself to calm down. Even if he walked comfortably, there was no way his parents would wake up unless he tripped and fell on something. When he reached the front door, he twisted the lock.

Now there was nothing to do but wait. He slowly walked back to his room, this time a little sluggish. There certainly was no rush, it's not like he had anything to do in his room and it wouldn't get Nagisa here any faster.

When he reached his room, he grabbed a book off his bookshelf at random and started reading. He just so happened to grab _Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief._ He laughed quietly to himself about it as nostalgic memories from his childhood came up. In his mind, he thought of Haruka as Percy… the son of Poseidon, god of the seas. Oh, yes, sleep deprivation was already egging its way into his mind, but the thoughts amused him, so he kept reading.

It wasn't too terribly long until the quiet opening and closing of doors was audible from his front entrance. Sure enough, a few seconds later, Nagisa stood in his doorway wearing nothing but his flannel penguin pajama bottoms and a white tank top. He tilted his head to one side and said, "Heya, Rei-chan!"

"Shh! Are you trying to wake up my family?" Rei asked halfheartedly. At this point, he didn't care if his parents woke up.

Nagisa smiled before carefully closing the door behind him. "Do you want to tell me about your nightmare now?" he asked as he sat down next to him on the bed.

"I… don't know, Nagisa. I just got it off my mind," Rei answered, closing his book. He looked at his friend's dark fuchsia eyes and saw nothing but encouragement.

"Well, I'm here now, so I'll just have to keep the nightmares away! If you don't want to tell me about it, then we'll just have to sleep together," he stated so innocently that it would rival a four year old saying those same words. Blush dusted his cheeks as Nagisa gently put his hands on the darker haired teen's chest to get him to lie down.

"Uh, Nagisa…"

"What?" he asked, still with that adorably innocent face of his.

"Are you sure about spending the night?" Rei asked, hoping that Nagisa would somehow miss his no doubt flushed cheeks.

"Of course! I've done it with Makoto and Haru a couple times before, so my parents won't mind. Besides, you need me," he said with a dazzling smile. His hands lingered on Rei's chest before moving to take off his glasses.

Their faces were so close that they could feel each other's gentle breaths. Under normal circumstances, Rei would be thrilled, but he couldn't get his focus off of how casual Nagisa was with normally romantic gestures. It made his heart thump strangely, like it was mixed with sadness but also still fluttery from the contact nonetheless.

"Scoot over," he said as he gently placed the red rimmed glasses on the nightstand. Rei obliged when Nagisa flipped the switch. The room fell dark once more, and the panic began to build up in his chest. As if he had a sixth sense, Nagisa turned to face him as he settled in the bed. He draped one arm over Rei's side and drew him closer. His other hand rested against Rei's chest. "Cuddling is also supposed to help!" His cheeks were definitely heating up again, but thankfully, Nagisa wouldn't be able to see it, even if his head wasn't buried in Rei's neck.

"Thanks, Nagisa-kun," Rei managed, trying to figure out what to do with his arms. He, like Nagisa, draped on over his side. The other, of its own accord, went below Nagisa. They were entangled in a somewhat-awkward hug, but they both seemed very comfortable.

Nagisa didn't reply, he just sighed against neck. The little tickling from his breath against his skin sent more butterflies to his stomach.

He definitely felt safe in those arms. The energetic blonde somehow was calming him down instead of winding him up. More strangely, he was quiet. He seemed to be completely relaxed pressed up against Rei like this.

Though the silence was comfortable, he felt the urge to share his nightmare with Nagisa now. "Hey," he murmured.

"Yes?" the blonde tilted his head up to look at Rei.

"Can I still tell you about my dream?" he asked quietly. Nagisa only blinked and nodded. "Well, I… was drowning. I've been having panic attacks about it sometimes. Usually, it's just the same thing that happened before. Makoto goes after me, but I always lose consciousness before he gets to me. This time, it was different…"

Nagisa gave Rei a gentle squeeze as if to say, _I'm here._ "How was it different?" he asked softly, prompting him to continue.

"It was you that came to get me this time," Rei answered.

"It was me?" the blonde inquired.

"Yeah, it was. You reached me, but I still lost consciousness after that. Then I woke up. I know it's irrational, but… I can't help but think about what would have happened if I had gotten you or Mako-chan or Haru-chan killed. I couldn't bear it if something happened to you," Rei said, tearing up at the idea.

Nagisa rubbed slow circles onto Rei's back, comforting him through touch. He never thought that technique would work, but somehow, it made him feel a million times better. The pause that filled the room was comfortable, like Nagisa was trying to think of something to say to accompany his actions. After a moment, he found it. "Rei-chan," he started, "we're all okay. You're okay. I'm okay. Haru-chan and Mako-chan are okay, too. Worrying about what happened in the past will just make you upset, and… I don't want to see you upset."

Now Rei's heart was thumping with something else. This one was an incredibly warm and wonderful feeling. "Nagisa-kun," he said, but couldn't think of anything to say afterwards.

"Let me sing you to sleep!" the blonde said cheerfully. He didn't wait for an answer before he started singing softly. _"You can rest easy tonight, everything is gonna be alright, I promise. Go to sleep and dream of me tonight, everything may not be perfect, but at least we tried."_ Nagisa propped himself up on one elbow to run a hand through Rei's hair and look at him. He sang with a smile on his face.

Meanwhile, Rei was definitely being lulled to sleep. The beautiful blonde boy was being so gentle, so tender that he found it harder and harder to keep his eyes open.

_"So tonight, sweet dreams and sleep tight. I've been trying so hard, can't get you out of my mind. I wish there was something I could do to make it easier for you. Sometimes it's tough, too soon to call it love…"_

Nagisa smiled to himself as he noticed Rei was asleep before him. He giggled softly at how beautiful he was before he kissed the bridge of Rei's nose. "I want it to be love," he whispered to himself before he snuggled up against the blue haired teen once again. There was nowhere else he'd rather be. It took him only a few moments to fall asleep, safe and secure in those arms.

After those few moments, Rei opened his eyes and whispered, "Me too." He kissed Nagisa's cheek and watched as the beautiful boy stirred to move closer to Rei. Together, they fell into the warmest and deepest sleep they'd ever felt in their lives.

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I hope you enjoyed it! In case you didn't know, I tweaked the lyrics a bit so that way it wasn't so bitter sweet. Also, stay tuned for more Free! fictions from me! (This was my first, so if it isn't as great as you want it to be, feel free to let me know! I love constructive criticism.) Any tips and advice are always welcome!


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